diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 24bd8a86..152c7d15 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -88,6 +88,8 @@
 * Ctrl+wheel up/down bound to `font-increase` and `font-decrease`
   respectively (in addition to the already existing default key
   bindings `ctrl-+` and `ctrl+-`).
+* Use XRGB pixel format (instead of ARGB) when there is no
+  transparency.
 
 [1526]: https://codeberg.org/dnkl/foot/issues/1526
 [1528]: https://codeberg.org/dnkl/foot/issues/1528
diff --git a/render.c b/render.c
index c6fedfbe..4f0d2348 100644
--- a/render.c
+++ b/render.c
@@ -1583,7 +1583,7 @@ render_overlay(struct terminal *term)
     }
 
     struct buffer *buf = shm_get_buffer(
-        term->render.chains.overlay, term->width, term->height);
+        term->render.chains.overlay, term->width, term->height, true);
 
     pixman_image_set_clip_region32(buf->pix[0], NULL);
 
@@ -2454,7 +2454,7 @@ render_csd(struct terminal *term)
     }
 
     struct buffer *bufs[CSD_SURF_COUNT];
-    shm_get_many(term->render.chains.csd, CSD_SURF_COUNT, widths, heights, bufs);
+    shm_get_many(term->render.chains.csd, CSD_SURF_COUNT, widths, heights, bufs, true);
 
     for (size_t i = CSD_SURF_LEFT; i <= CSD_SURF_BOTTOM; i++)
         render_csd_border(term, i, &infos[i], bufs[i]);
@@ -2599,7 +2599,7 @@ render_scrollback_position(struct terminal *term)
     }
 
     struct buffer_chain *chain = term->render.chains.scrollback_indicator;
-    struct buffer *buf = shm_get_buffer(chain, width, height);
+    struct buffer *buf = shm_get_buffer(chain, width, height, false);
 
     wl_subsurface_set_position(
         win->scrollback_indicator.sub, roundf(x / scale), roundf(y / scale));
@@ -2642,7 +2642,7 @@ render_render_timer(struct terminal *term, struct timespec render_time)
     height = roundf(scale * ceilf(height / scale));
 
     struct buffer_chain *chain = term->render.chains.render_timer;
-    struct buffer *buf = shm_get_buffer(chain, width, height);
+    struct buffer *buf = shm_get_buffer(chain, width, height, false);
 
     wl_subsurface_set_position(
         win->render_timer.sub,
@@ -2817,7 +2817,10 @@ grid_render(struct terminal *term)
     xassert(term->height > 0);
 
     struct buffer_chain *chain = term->render.chains.grid;
-    struct buffer *buf = shm_get_buffer(chain, term->width, term->height);
+    bool use_alpha = !term->window->is_fullscreen &&
+                     term->colors.alpha != 0xffff;
+    struct buffer *buf = shm_get_buffer(
+        chain, term->width, term->height, use_alpha);
 
     /* Dirty old and current cursor cell, to ensure they're repainted */
     dirty_old_cursor(term);
@@ -3208,7 +3211,7 @@ render_search_box(struct terminal *term)
     size_t glyph_offset = term->render.search_glyph_offset;
 
     struct buffer_chain *chain = term->render.chains.search;
-    struct buffer *buf = shm_get_buffer(chain, width, height);
+    struct buffer *buf = shm_get_buffer(chain, width, height, true);
 
     pixman_region32_t clip;
     pixman_region32_init_rect(&clip, 0, 0, width, height);
@@ -3670,7 +3673,7 @@ render_urls(struct terminal *term)
 
     struct buffer_chain *chain = term->render.chains.url;
     struct buffer *bufs[render_count];
-    shm_get_many(chain, render_count, widths, heights, bufs);
+    shm_get_many(chain, render_count, widths, heights, bufs, false);
 
     uint32_t fg = term->conf->colors.use_custom.jump_label
         ? term->conf->colors.jump_label.fg
diff --git a/shm.c b/shm.c
index 7959a84b..fb868382 100644
--- a/shm.c
+++ b/shm.c
@@ -82,6 +82,7 @@ struct buffer_private {
     struct buffer_pool *pool;
     off_t offset;             /* Offset into memfd where data begins */
     size_t size;
+    bool with_alpha;
 
     bool scrollable;
 };
@@ -261,7 +262,7 @@ instantiate_offset(struct buffer_private *buf, off_t new_offset)
     wl_buf = wl_shm_pool_create_buffer(
         pool->wl_pool, new_offset,
         buf->public.width, buf->public.height, buf->public.stride,
-        WL_SHM_FORMAT_ARGB8888);
+        buf->with_alpha ? WL_SHM_FORMAT_ARGB8888 : WL_SHM_FORMAT_XRGB8888);
 
     if (wl_buf == NULL) {
         LOG_ERR("failed to create SHM buffer");
@@ -271,7 +272,8 @@ instantiate_offset(struct buffer_private *buf, off_t new_offset)
     /* One pixman image for each worker thread (do we really need multiple?) */
     for (size_t i = 0; i < buf->public.pix_instances; i++) {
         pix[i] = pixman_image_create_bits_no_clear(
-            PIXMAN_a8r8g8b8, buf->public.width, buf->public.height,
+            buf->with_alpha ? PIXMAN_a8r8g8b8 : PIXMAN_x8r8g8b8,
+            buf->public.width, buf->public.height,
             (uint32_t *)mmapped, buf->public.stride);
         if (pix[i] == NULL) {
             LOG_ERR("failed to create pixman image");
@@ -304,7 +306,8 @@ err:
 static void NOINLINE
 get_new_buffers(struct buffer_chain *chain, size_t count,
                 int widths[static count], int heights[static count],
-                struct buffer *bufs[static count], bool immediate_purge)
+                struct buffer *bufs[static count], bool with_alpha,
+                bool immediate_purge)
 {
     xassert(count == 1 || !chain->scrollable);
     /*
@@ -322,7 +325,8 @@ get_new_buffers(struct buffer_chain *chain, size_t count,
 
     size_t total_size = 0;
     for (size_t i = 0; i < count; i++) {
-        stride[i] = stride_for_format_and_width(PIXMAN_a8r8g8b8, widths[i]);
+        stride[i] = stride_for_format_and_width(
+            with_alpha ? PIXMAN_a8r8g8b8 : PIXMAN_x8r8g8b8, widths[i]);
         sizes[i] = stride[i] * heights[i];
         total_size += sizes[i];
     }
@@ -473,6 +477,7 @@ get_new_buffers(struct buffer_chain *chain, size_t count,
             .chain = chain,
             .ref_count = immediate_purge ? 0 : 1,
             .busy = true,
+            .with_alpha = with_alpha,
             .pool = pool,
             .offset = 0,
             .size = sizes[i],
@@ -542,13 +547,13 @@ shm_did_not_use_buf(struct buffer *_buf)
 void
 shm_get_many(struct buffer_chain *chain, size_t count,
              int widths[static count], int heights[static count],
-             struct buffer *bufs[static count])
+             struct buffer *bufs[static count], bool with_alpha)
 {
-    get_new_buffers(chain, count, widths, heights, bufs, true);
+    get_new_buffers(chain, count, widths, heights, bufs, with_alpha, true);
 }
 
 struct buffer *
-shm_get_buffer(struct buffer_chain *chain, int width, int height)
+shm_get_buffer(struct buffer_chain *chain, int width, int height, bool with_alpha)
 {
     LOG_DBG(
         "chain=%p: looking for a reusable %dx%d buffer "
@@ -610,7 +615,7 @@ shm_get_buffer(struct buffer_chain *chain, int width, int height)
     }
 
     struct buffer *ret;
-    get_new_buffers(chain, 1, &width, &height, &ret, false);
+    get_new_buffers(chain, 1, &width, &height, &ret, with_alpha, false);
     return ret;
 }
 
diff --git a/shm.h b/shm.h
index 7d1796bf..b4b075ca 100644
--- a/shm.h
+++ b/shm.h
@@ -55,7 +55,8 @@ void shm_chain_free(struct buffer_chain *chain);
  *
  * A newly allocated buffer has an age of 1234.
  */
-struct buffer *shm_get_buffer(struct buffer_chain *chain, int width, int height);
+struct buffer *shm_get_buffer(
+    struct buffer_chain *chain, int width, int height, bool with_alpha);
 /*
  * Returns many buffers, described by 'info', all sharing the same SHM
  * buffer pool.
@@ -73,7 +74,7 @@ struct buffer *shm_get_buffer(struct buffer_chain *chain, int width, int height)
 void shm_get_many(
     struct buffer_chain *chain, size_t count,
     int widths[static count], int heights[static count],
-    struct buffer *bufs[static count]);
+    struct buffer *bufs[static count], bool with_alpha);
 
 void shm_did_not_use_buf(struct buffer *buf);
 
diff --git a/wayland.c b/wayland.c
index c5feb6a1..fe3cba20 100644
--- a/wayland.c
+++ b/wayland.c
@@ -234,8 +234,6 @@ seat_destroy(struct seat *seat)
 static void
 shm_format(void *data, struct wl_shm *wl_shm, uint32_t format)
 {
-    struct wayland *wayl = data;
-
 #if defined(_DEBUG)
     bool have_description = false;
 
@@ -250,9 +248,6 @@ shm_format(void *data, struct wl_shm *wl_shm, uint32_t format)
     if (!have_description)
         LOG_DBG("shm: 0x%08x: unknown", format);
 #endif
-
-    if (format == WL_SHM_FORMAT_ARGB8888)
-        wayl->have_argb8888 = true;
 }
 
 static const struct wl_shm_listener shm_listener = {
@@ -1576,11 +1571,6 @@ wayl_init(struct fdm *fdm, struct key_binding_manager *key_binding_manager,
     /* Trigger listeners registered when handling globals */
     wl_display_roundtrip(wayl->display);
 
-    if (!wayl->have_argb8888) {
-        LOG_ERR("compositor does not support ARGB surfaces");
-        goto out;
-    }
-
     tll_foreach(wayl->monitors, it) {
         LOG_INFO(
             "%s: %dx%d+%dx%d@%dHz %s %.2f\" scale=%d, DPI=%.2f/%.2f (physical/scaled)",
diff --git a/wayland.h b/wayland.h
index 733ebd3f..84fcbe48 100644
--- a/wayland.h
+++ b/wayland.h
@@ -455,7 +455,6 @@ struct wayland {
     struct zwp_text_input_manager_v3 *text_input_manager;
 #endif
 
-    bool have_argb8888;
     tll(struct monitor) monitors;  /* All available outputs */
     tll(struct seat) seats;